Why Top 45?

These are the things that float to the top of my list of activities that I want to do for the year 2012 when I am 45 years old. The list is comprised of things that I have either never tried or have wanted to try and just didn't have the courage or time to do it. Follow along and watch my progress and feel free to comment or add words of encouragement to help keep me going for the next 365 days!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Fun Fest!

Below is my list of 'fun' things.

Fun

Passport
Vacation

Trip
with Kim, Stacy and other peeps - August

Paragliding
- August

Surfing
lessons - August

Snowboarding/snow
ski - December

Drink
Chateau d’Yquem (Alternate?)

Chicken
Shit Bingo – January

Zip
lining in the Hill Country -March

These items are purely fun, pretty much no stress and just things that I have been wanting to try and just have never gotten around to it.

I have not been on a 'passport' vacation in a couple of years and I just renewed my passport so it is time to get some new stamps in it. One of the determining factors on this one will be cost, but I might be able to get to Mexico for fairly cheap or even take a cruise which would require my passport for ports-of-call. Regardless of the trip, my passport will be used next year.

I am planning a trip to San Diego to visit some friends and check off a few things on the list. When I worked at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, I used to watch people paraglide in La Jolla. I have been parasailing and LOVED it and the main thing that sticks in my mind from that experience is that when you are up high above the ocean, it is pure silence and so peaceful. I won't be going solo, but they do offer tandem rides near where I used to work, so that is a no brainer. Also, I never tried surfing when I lived in SoCal for three years so I am kind of going back in time to check it off. To be honest, while living there, I didn't get in the water that much even though I spent a good bit of time on the beach. The Pacific is pretty chilly and even for a water lover, I HATE cold water. The trip is planned in August so hopefully the water will be at its warmest. I have invited some of my peeps on this trip so it should be a lot of fun.

Last year, Nicole and I visited one of my former students who lives in the Denver area. We had an incredible time playing in the snow and seeing wildlife. Nicole is dying to go back and I plan on making a trip of it next December. I have only snow skied once many years ago in Maine. It was not the best experience because a) I had never skied before and the mountains were probably more ice than snow and b) it was so cold and windy that my eyes would tear up and then the moisture would freeze on my eyelashes making it difficult to see. Nicole and I did some sledding last year and on the next trip, I want to try to snow ski or snow board at least one afternoon.

After reading 'The Help' in book club, we were going to go and try Chicken Shit Bingo after seeing the movie, but it was planned for the middle of summer and none of us really wanted to go sit outside in the 100+ heat to watch a chicken poop on a bingo board hoping they would do so on our chosen number. We will now make it to CSB in the better weather that Austin has to offer and you can read a review of it on Yelp here http://www.yelp.com/biz/ginnys-little-longhorn-saloon-austin.

Another Austin area event will be zip lining in the Hill Country. I have zip lined before in Jamaica and really enjoyed it, so it would be great to do it again. You can see pictures here, http://www.wimberleyzipline.com/zipline-info/index.htm. I had to change the date to March, because apparently they are closed until the end of February, but spring in Austin is amazing.

Finally, I have drink a Chateau d'Yquem with some friends on the list. I listed it as "Alternate" because I am not sure if I can find a bottle that is in a price range I can afford so I will have to see. If this doesn't work out, I will find a really good bottle of something and still toast with it when I make it to the end of the list.

If you want to take part in any of these things, let me know and I will give specific dates for the adventures.